An anonymous reader emailed me a link to an Associated Press story by Larry Neumeister that appeared last month. It relates to a case I’ve mentioned previously on this blog.
Gone are the days of the nameless, faceless “john.” Men who buy sex are now likely to end up with their faces splashed across the Internet or the morning newspaper.
A Maine tourist town shaken up by authorities’ promises to reveal the identities of dozens of clients of a fitness instructor accused of prostitution is just the latest place to enlist public shaming as a preventive measure.
Fresno, Calif., sponsors a website called “Operation Reveal” that features mug shots of suspected johns, while Oklahoma City has the vigilante-style “JohnTV.” In Arlington, Texas, a highway billboard declares “This could be you” under the picture of four suspects.
In Maine, the small-town scandal has literally put Kennebunk on the map — it’s now part of a database tracking more than 870 municipalities that have launched initiatives targeting men who hire prostitutes.
Read more on AP’s The Big Story.